Sunday, November 29, 2015

Chicago FOP standing behind cop on trial for murder...

The FOP is paying for his lawyer. Police unions are a big part of what is wrong with police departments in many communities. Most police are decent people trying to do a difficult job, but it's almost impossible to weed out the bad apples because of police unions.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The main
Chicago police union is standing behind the white officer who was
charged this week with first-degree murder for gunning down a black
teenager. It is facing a backlash from leaders of the city’s black
community as a result.

On its website, the Chicago lodge of the Fraternal
Order of Police (FOP), has posted a bail fund appeal for the officer,
Jason Van Dyke, who is accused of shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald
16 times just six seconds after emerging from his patrol car on a street
in Chicago on Oct. 20, 2014. An earlier link on the FOP's front page to
a GoFundMe campaign was removed after the fundraising site said it
violated a policy against its use by criminal defendants.

The FOP also is
paying the lawyer representing Van Dyke, Daniel Herbert, himself a
former FOP member the union pays to represent Chicago cops in misconduct
cases. Funding such a defense is a common practice among U.S. police
unions.